The subject of firesetting is to be explored for the first time for audiences in a gallery space, as part of a photography exhibition opening in Liverpool in September.
Firehawks opens from 26 September to 16 November 2025 at Open Eye Gallery, one of the UK’s leading photography galleries. Photographer Stephen King’s exhibition will feature approximately 20 photographs, aiming to bring about an understanding of firesetting and the complexities of trauma associated with this destructive behaviour.
The exhibition is the culmination of years of work for Stephen, who himself has a lived experience of firesetting in his younger years. Beginning as an Arts Council-funded research project in 2021, Stephen and the exhibition’s producer Angharad Williams, have worked closely with Open Eye Gallery’s social practice team and leading specialist in the field of child firesetting, Joanna Foster, to develop a larger scale project, looking at firesetting, its triggers, impacts and personal stories of those affected.
Most recently, this has involved Stephen undertaking four short residencies with London Fire Brigade, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and Merseyside Probation Service as well as numerous conversations and workshops with individuals, to develop an exhibition of work that will veer away from the documentary style that one might expect. Filmic and dreamlike in quality, the images won’t depict individuals’ stories but will be an amalgamation of different people’s experiences, told through a creative visual language, allowing audiences to connect with the issue of firesetting in a metaphorical way.
Stephen said: “From a deeply personal point, I have reflected upon early experiences with firesetting and the often-criminal framing surrounding it. This exhibition specifically explores the complex psychology of child trauma and its connection to firesetting, offering an overview of the evolutionary aspects of this behaviour. The work attempts to examine the broader relationship between children and fire, shedding light on the intricate psychological processes that shape our understanding of this primal connection, and why they are drawn to this element during a traumatic experience.
“Carrying out residencies with a number of teams from fire services across the UK, including shadowing front line engagement with young people with firesetting behaviour, individuals with lived-experience and professionals who work within the sector such as psychiatrists, researchers and academics, I have been struck even further by the need to tell their collective story. The language of photography has the ability to bridge barriers and destigmatise what is an incredibly sensitive subject, and the culmination of this project will hopefully bring a positive platform to those who are working through their trauma, those who have overcome it, and show audiences that the work of frontline services goes much further than ‘putting out fires’.”
Elizabeth Wewiora, head of social practice at Open Eye Gallery said: “It is so exciting to see the ‘Firehawks’ project become a reality this year within our galleries, as we’ve been discussing the project with Stephen for more than five years. Like most good, socially engaged projects however, this shouldn’t seem a surprise, as working collaboratively with communities to shape and visualise stories which are important to them takes time. And ‘Firehawks’ is a very particular story, which needs to be explored with care and sensitivity; something we hold real value in at Open Eye Gallery.
“Stephen’s approach considers the anonymity of all involved whilst still opening up a visual conversation for our audiences as it explores why people can be drawn to fire during traumatic experiences in their lives, and moreover how wider society and our frontline services respond and deal with this. Stephen’s photographic work leans into the metaphorical and surreal which is also a welcome alternative approach to socially engaged photographic imagery, which can tend to sit more within a documentary style. We can’t wait to see the work come together in the gallery this September.”
The root of the exhibition’s title links to the phenomenon of the Firehawk, an Australian bird that creates bushfires by dropping already burning sticks in an attempt to direct prey fleeing an original blaze. They actively transform their landscapes to ensure their nourishment in times of drought and trauma. The Firehawk bird has never been digitally captured, and most accounts are from first nation experts in Australia. As well as exploring the psychological triggers of firesetting, Stephen’s exhibition will explore the correlation of the act of the Firehawk bird with children and adults who set fires in the UK.
Reflecting on the project to date, Joanna Foster, author of ‘Children and Teenagers Who Set Fires: Why they do it and how to help’ commented: “I was very cautious when first approached to collaborate on this project; a man named Stephen King contacting me via my website with an intent to produce photographs about firesetting behaviour conjured up all sorts of macabre images in my mind. Happily, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Stephen has approached the subject with a curiosity and empathy that is allowing this often deeply misunderstood and very hidden behaviour to be brought into the light in a compassionate, creative and much-needed way”.
Development of the works for the exhibition will continue over the coming months following the residencies for the project and will be supported by a public progamme of events and in-person learning opportunities during the seven weeks of display at Open Eye Gallery.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.